>>> ALL RIGHT.
WE HE JUST GOT SOME NEW VIDEO
FOR THE FIRST TIME WITH YOU.
THIS IS A RUSSIAN MISSILE ATTACK
IN THE HOMTOWN OF VOLODYMYR
ZELENSKYY.
LET'S WATCH.
[ SCREAMING
]
>> ALL RIGHT.
THAT IS TERRIFYING, AND THAT IS
FOUR PEOPLE KILLED IN THAT
RUBBLE, AND THOSE NUMBERS COULD
RISE.
THERE IS A HUGE RESCUE UNDER WAY
CNN'S NICK PATON WALSH IS ON
THE GROUND IN UKRAINE, WHERE
PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY'S
HOMETOWN HAS BEEN HIT BY
MISSILES.
HE BLAMES RUSSIA.
UKRAINIAN OFFICIALS SAY FOUR
PEOPLE HAVE LOST THEIR LIVES
AND THE ATTACK, WITH MORE THAN
40 INJURED.
WE WILL HAVE A NEW --
LOOK AT NEXT REPORT.
>> IT'S STARTLING, TO SEE THE
NUMBER OF INJURED INVOLVED,
OVER 50, AND FOUR DEAD,
INCLUDING A 45-YEAR-OLD WOMAN
AND HER TEN-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER,
AND TWO MEN AS WELL.
NOW, ONE OF THE WITNESSES,
NATALIA, FROM A --
DESCRIBED HOW HER HUSBAND WAS
KNOCKED OFF HER FEET AND HOW
HER CHILD WAS BASICALLY SAYING,
THEY WERE IN THE BATHROOM, AND
INDEED, ANOTHER MISSILE LANDING
NEAR THE A POLYTECHNIQUE --
WHERE ANOTHER WITNESS DESCRIBED
HOW NOBODY IN THE BUILDING,
WHERE THE MISSILE LANDED, BUT
THEY SIMPLY DIDN'T HAVE TIME TO
RESPOND.
THIS, STARTLING, BECAUSE IT
APPEARS TO BE AN ESCALATION BY
RUSSIA TO HIT CIVILIAN AREAS.
THE LOTTERIES LANDSCAPE, THE
PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE'S HOMETOWN,
A VAST, SPRAWLING --
QUITE FAR AT THIS POINT, SINCE
THE FRONTLINES HAVE CHANGED
AWAY FROM THE FIGHTING.
BUT CLEARLY, THEY PLACED --
WANTED TO INFLICT THAT MUCH
DAMAGE UPON.
IT'S IMPORTANT TO POINT OUT,
WHEN WE TALK ABOUT UKRAINIAN
JOHN ATTACKS [INAUDIBLE]
[INAUDIBLE]
--
OVER THE PAST DECADE, THAT
BEING HIT BY A UKRAINIAN DRONES,
FRANKLY, A YEAR, AGO YOU
COULDN'T GET THROUGH RUSSIAN
AIR DEFENSES.
THAT IS INDEED A DEEP
PSYCHOLOGICAL BLOW, AND WHAT
I'M SURE THE KREMLIN FEEL THEY
HAVE TO RESPOND TO IN SOME WAY,
DESPITE THE FACT THAT STRANGELY
TODAY THEIR SPOKESPERSON,
DIMITRI PESKOV, CALLING THOSE
DRONE ATTACKS AN ACT OF
DESPERATION.
WE ARE HERE IN THE SOUTH
ZAPORIZHZHIA, WHERE UKRAINE
CONTINUES TO PUSH FORWARD IN
ITS COUNTEROFFENSIVE.
SOME SLOW AND AT TIMES REVERSED
PROGRESS, PARTICULARLY TO THE
EAST OF THE FRONT LINES, BUT
THE TEMPO OF THIS WAR CERTAINLY
RISING AT THIS MOMENT, AS
RUSSIA --
UNDER ATTACK.
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY SAYING THAT
THE WARS GRADUALLY RETURNING TO
RUSSIA, BUT IT IS QUITE CLEAR
THAT YOU WE WILL CONTINUE TO
SEE THIS BLATANT BIT --
CIVILIAN TOLL ON UKRAINE,
REGARDLESS OF HOW THEY FARE ON
THE BATTLEFIELD HERE.
>> NICK PATON WALSH REPORTING
THERE FOR THE BIGGER PICTURE.
ON THAT WALL, ON THE GROUND,
AND ON THIS SUMMIT, WE ARE
HEARING ABOUT IN SAUDI ARABIA,
I'M WITH CNN'S NICK ROBERTSON.
NICK, IT'S GOOD TO HAVE YOU.
THE KREMLIN HAS SAID IT WILL BE
MONITORING THESE UPCOMING TALKS,
REPORTEDLY TO BE HELD IN JEDDAH
THIS WEEKEND.
WHAT CAN WE EXPECT AT THIS
POINT?
>> PERHAPS A PLACE HOLDER.
SAUDI ARABIA'S TAKING ITS
POSITION AS BEING A PRINCIPAL
ARBITER BETWEEN THESE TWO
COUNTRIES.
NEITHER AT THE MOMENT APPEARS
READY, LOOK AT WHAT'S HAPPENED
ON THE BATTLEFIELD, TO LISTEN
TO WHAT THEY'RE SAYING.
TO SETTLE FOR ANYTHING LESS
THEN PUSHING AHEAD WITH THE
FIGHT, UKRAINE'S BUNDLED THEIR
COUNTEROFFENSIVE.
INTERESTINGLY, PRESIDENT PUTIN
WAS PUSHED BY AFRICAN LEADERS
SAYING BOTH SIDES NEED TO STOP.
YOU NEED TO DISENGAGE ON THE
BATTLEFIELD.
AND HIS POINT WAS, WELL, WE
CAN'T DO THAT AS RUSSIA,
BECAUSE THE UKRAINIANS ARE
ATTACKING US.
HE KIND OF SIDESTEPPED THE
ISSUE.
THE POINT BEING THAT PEACE
TALKS ARE MOST PRODUCTIVE WHEN
BOTH SIDES FIGURE IT'S TIME TO
TALK UP AND SETTLE FOR PEACE.
WE DON'T SEEM TO BE AT THAT
MOMENT.
HOWEVER, SAUDI ARABIA,
CREIGHTON FRANCE WANTS TO GET
INVOLVED AND DOES HAVE A DEGREE
OF LANGUAGE WITH PRESIDENT
PUTIN IN RUSSIA.
AND --
>> CERTAINLY INVOLVED IN
MEDIATING HOSTAGE RELATIONS.
I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT
THAT WHEN WE HEARD FIRST
REPORTS OF THIS MEETING.
WHICH IS STILL NOT BEING
CONFIRMED BY SAUDI ARABIA AS I
UNDERSTAND IT.
AS OF YET.
CERTAINLY THE KREMLIN AND THE
UKRAINIANS SEEM TO BELIEVE THAT
THIS PEACE SUMMIT IS GOING
AHEAD.
REPORTS ON THIS WILL BE --
EXPANDED SET OF COUNTRIES IN
ATTENDANCE.
INCLUDING THOSE FROM THE GLOBAL
SOUTH.
I JUST WONDER HOW IMPORTANT IT
IS TO YOUR MIND THAT THERE IS
AS MANY --
AS WIDE A REPRESENTATION OF
COUNTRIES AS POSSIBLE AT THIS
SUMMIT.
>> I THINK THAT SOMETHING
THAT'S GOING TO BE ATTRACTIVE
TO PRESIDENT ZELENSKYY.
BECAUSE HIS VOICE ON THE WORLD
STAGE, WHILE IT RESONATES WITH
HIS ALLIES, IS NOT AS LOUD AS
PRESIDENT PUTIN IS.
PARTICULARLY SPEAKING OF THE
GLOBAL SOUTH.
>> THESE ALLIES ARE, OF COURSE,
THE UKRAINE --
MUCH WESTERN FOCUS.
>> THEY ARE.
>> ZELENSKYY, IF THEY GO TO GET
A, AND ASK PRESIDENT ZELENSKYY
--
ARAB LEAGUE SUMMIT EARLIER THIS
YEAR BACK IN APRIL AND MAY, WAS
ABLE TO PUT FORWARD HIS TEN
POINT PEACE PLAN AND SO IF THE
ADVANTAGE FOR THE UKRAINIANS,
AND WAREHOUSES EXPLAINS WHY THE
RUSSIANS ARE RETICENT ABOUT
GOING.
EVENTUALLY FOR THE UKRAINIANS
IS TO GET THE MESSAGE OF WHAT
THEY ARE ABOUT IN TERMS OF
THEIR PEACE DEAL ON THE AGENDA
WITH THE GLOBAL SOUTH WHO HAVE,
TO A DEGREE, BEEN CRITICIZING
THE WEST, THEREFORE INDIRECTLY
CRITICIZING THE UKRAINE'S
STANCE IN THIS WAR.
SO THAT'S A CHANCE FOR THEM.
HOW DOES THIS ACTUALLY ADVANCE
THE PROCESS?
YOU KNOW, THE SAUDIS TYPICALLY
CAN OFTEN PLAY A BIG ROLE,
INITIALLY HOSTING PEACE
EFFORTS.
BUT IT'S THAT SMALL DIPLOMATIC
FOLLOW-UP THAT'S GOING TO BE
KEY.
WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH DETAILS TO
SEE THAT YET.
BUT LET'S JUST FLAG THAT THAT
DIPLOMATIC FOLLOW-UP IS WHAT
WILL MAKE OR BREAK THESE
EFFORTS.
>> NICK, OF COURSE, THE OIL
MARKET --
SORT OF, AS A BACKGROUND OR TO
THE ENTIRE 18 MONTHS WORTH OF
CONFLICT THAT WE ARE SEEING.
IS EXTREMELY SIGNIFICANT.
AND OF COURSE, SAUDIS PLAY A
KEY ROLE AS LEADERS IN OPEC.
PLUS, THE OIL CARTEL, WHICH
INCLUDES, WITH IT'S PLUS
RUSSIA.
>> I THINK WHAT WE'VE HEARD
FROM THE SAUDIS, MORE AND MORE
OF THE PAST COUPLE YEARS, IS
THEY ARE GOING TO TAKE
DECISIONS THAT ARE IN THEIR
NATIONAL INTEREST.
WHAT'S IN SAUDIS INTEREST RIGHT
NOW?
HAVING A STABLE OIL MARKET AT A
CERTAIN PRICE THAT'S GOING TO
BRING THEM THE MONEY THAT THEY
NEED TO MAKE THESE HUGE
INVESTMENTS THAT THEY'RE
TALKING ABOUT IN THEIR
INFRASTRUCTURE, DIVERSIFYING
AWAY FROM HYDROCARBONS.
ALL OF THAT.
SO THEIR INTEREST HERE WILL BE
TO CONTROL THE DESTABILIZING
EFFECT OF WHAT RUSSIA'S DOING.
>> LET'S BE QUITE CLEAR.
THE SAUDIS WHO HAVE TAKEN A,
QUOTE, NEUTRAL POSITION IN THIS
CONFLICT TO DATE.
NOT CHANGING THAT POSITION BY
HOSTING THIS MEETING?
>> NOW.
LOOK, WE'VE SEEN THEM GIVE 400
BILLION DOLLARS --
AS SOME SORT OF HUMANITARIAN
FUND.
WE'VE SEEN THEM, APPARENTLY, IT
SEEMS AT TIMES, SIDE BY SIDE
WITH RUSSIA IN DECREASING OIL
OUTPUTS AND E CREASING THE
PRICE OF OIL.
THIS HELPS RUSSIA FUND THE WAR
IN UKRAINE.
THEY RECEIVED HEAVY CRITICISM
FOR THAT.
SO THEY DO PLAY A SWING ROLE,
BUT IN TERMS OF THEIR
NEUTRALITY, THEY WANT, IT
APPEARS THAT MBS WANTS TO HAVE
A BIG STAKE AS A WORLD LEADER
DIPLOMAT PUTTING SAUDI ARABIA
AT A POSITIVE LIGHT, BACK ON
THE WORLD STAGE AS THEY DEAL
WITH CHINA OVER IRAN, STILL
STICKING, OVER YEMEN THAT IS
STILL STICKING.
THAT BROUGHT A GOOD DEGREE OF
POSITIVE BENEFIT IN RELATION TO
THE UNITED STATES.
THE OTHER BIG PRIZE FOR THE
U.S. IN SAUDI ARABIA AND THEIR
RELATIONS IS WHETHER OR NOT
SAUDI ARABIA WILL HAVE A
REPROACHABLE WITH ISRAEL.
THERE'S LOTS TO DISCUSS.
AND THAT'S UNDER DISCUSSION.
BECAUSE JUST ACTUALLY HAVING
SOME POSITIVE --
FOR THE SAUDIS TO MAKE THAT
WORK, THIS IS SOMETHING WITH
ISRAEL, AND THAT YOU NEED TO
GET IT DONE WHAT PRESIDENT
BIDEN'S OFFICE.
THAT'S GOT A TIME LIMIT ON IT.
>> ALWAYS GOOD TO HAVE YOU.